


sword fights

by angelheartbeat



Series: fuck it ill do it myself [15]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canonical Character Death, Canonical Child Abuse, Child Abuse, Childhood Friends, Happy Ending, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-10 19:20:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15298308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelheartbeat/pseuds/angelheartbeat
Summary: Thor frowned. There, across the street, another little boy was sat, on the porch by his house. His hair was curly, and flopped over into his eyes, and he was squinting at his book with a furious intensity. Thor couldn't remember ever seeing him before.If only he knew then how close they'd become.





	sword fights

**Author's Note:**

> so ao3 deleted this whole biz first time I tried to post it press f
> 
> the childhood au... no one asked for

Thor frowned. There, across the street, another little boy was sat, on the porch by his house. His hair was curly, and flopped over into his eyes, and he was squinting at his book with a furious intensity. Thor couldn't remember ever seeing him before.

"Hold on a second, brother," he said to Loki, who immediately rolled his eyes and threw his sceptre (see also: tree branch) on the ground in favour of folding his arms. Thor ignored him and jogged across the street, still holding his wooden sword, and grinned at the boy as he approached. "Hello!"

Startling, the boy finally looked up and seemed surprised to see Thor standing there. He swallowed. "Hello..?"

"I am Thor, defender of all realms and warrior for the peoples, and this peoples seems lonely! Would you, perchance, wish to partake in our battle?"

The boy giggled. "You talk weird."

Thor frowned again. Did he? To be fair, he was playing it up a little for the sake of the game, but this _was_ how he spoke for the most part. But it seemed to amuse the boy, so. He kicked it up a notch. "Verily! Indeedeth I do, my goodeth sir!"

"I'm Bruce," the boy said, amidst tiny chuckles. "And, uh, yeah. I'll play, I guess."

But just as soon as Thor lit up and helped Bruce off of the step, he faltered and glanced back at his house. "Actually... my dad might get mad at me."

"Your father dost not haveth to know!" Was he overdoing it now?

"Yeah, but..."

Bruce fiddled with his hands nervously, glancing between Thor and his front door. Thor's shoulders slumped a little. Here he was, having found a whole new friend to play with he and Loki, and the friend couldn't even play! 

"Shall we ask your father?" he asked, and Bruce's eyes widened.

"Oh, no, no no no n-"

But Thor was already marching purposefully towards the front door of Bruce's house. He raised himself up on his tiptoes and knocked hard against the door, oblivious to Bruce's panicked noises behind him. To his surprise, it wasn't Bruce's father that answered the door, but rather a sweet-looking woman with soft hair that fell over her shoulders. Bruce relaxed visibly, even smiled.

"Hey there, sweetie," the woman said, smiling at Thor with a touch of confusion. "What can I do for you?"

"I would like to request that this new friend I have acquired be permitted to play with my brother and I," Thor said proudly, gesturing at Bruce enthusiastically with his sword.

The woman, who Thor was assuming was Bruce's mother, laughed. "Well of course, darling! Its always good to see Bruce making new friends." Bruce and Thor both lit up, and Thor shouted a thank you as he started to jog back to Loki, who was grumbling quietly. Bruce ran to his mother and wrapped his arms around her in a hug.

"Thank you, mom," he said excitedly, and Rebecca stroked his curly hair softly, her face turning worried.

"Don't be too long," she whispered. "We don't wanna make Dad suspicious."

Bruce shook his head vigorously before releasing his mother's legs from his embrace and running across the road to where Thor and Loki were waiting. Rebecca watched him go, gnawing at her lip anxiously, before sighing and closing the door.

\---

The next day, Thor sprinted full-pelt across the road to bang on Bruce's door and buzz with excitement. They'd had a wonderful game the day prior, before Bruce got worried about something or other and disappeared back home, promising to see Thor soon. But he needed the Hulk! They'd promised to help defeat the nefarious Loki together!

Bruce's mother answered the door again. Her face spread into a wide smile when she saw Thor. "Hey, sweetheart! You here to play with Bruce again?"

Thor nodded. "Is he here?"

"Yeah, of course. I'll just go get him." She disappeared inside, leaving the door open, and Thor couldn't help peeking a little bit into Bruce's house. It was a little smaller and much messier than his house, but it seemed cozy.

Before long Bruce reappeared, accompanied by his mom, and Thor grinned at the sight of his new friend. Bruce seemed equally excited to see Thor.

"Hey Thor!" he cried, nervous expression splitting into a wide smile.

"No time for pleasantries!" Thor cried back, but he was grinning. "The dastardly Loki is back at his tricks again!"

Bruce gasped, but before he started to run across the road, he glanced up at Rebecca. "Mom? Is it okay if I go?"

"Of course, Bruce," she said, and Thor let out a whooping cheer, grabbing Bruce's hand and yanking him across the road to where Loki was exiting Thor's house, brandishing the same tree branch as yesterday.

"Brother," Loki said, presumably attempting to sound intimidating and hamming up the old-timey speak, but it was hard to manipulate his eight-year-old voice into anything resembling evil. "And Hulk. I see you hath returneth."

"Indeed we have, Loki," Thor replied, gripping his wooden sword tightly as Bruce rearranged himself into a fighting stance, pretending to be the character he'd made up, because 'using your own name for your character is silly' as he'd said. Thor had scoffed and replied that it wasn't, not if you were as great a warrior as he was.

Rebecca watched as they launched themselves into a play-fight with vigor, the sounds of laughter and wood clacking together echoing to her across the street. As Bruce roared and swatted Loki's branch out of the way, she smiled gently and went back inside.

\---

Days went by, each one bringing Thor across the road to excitedly ask if Bruce could play again. Every time, Bruce's mother would answer the door, leading Thor to wonder if Bruce's father was ever there at all. They'd branched out from merely fighting, starting to play different games, but always ending in Bruce worriedly rushing back across the road.

About a week and a bit had passed, and Bruce sat at the dinner table with his family, his feet not quite touching the floor. They sat in silence, the only sound being cutlery scraping against plates and chewing.

"Thor invited me over for dinner tomorrow night," Bruce spoke up quietly, staring hard at his plate. Rebecca took a sip of water, avoiding the hard stare of Bruce's father.

"That's great, sweetheart."

"Who's Thor?" Brian asked, eyes narrowed. He didn't sound angry, but there was the usual edge to his voice that suggested he wasn't far from it.

"He's my friend, Dad. He lives across the road."

"How come you haven't mentioned him before now?"

"Um, I..." Bruce swallowed, chasing a pea around his plate with his fork. "I didn't think you'd be interested."

"What, you don't think I'd care that my only son finally made a goddamn friend?"

"Brian," Rebecca said softly, reaching across the table to touch Brian's hand, but he pulled it back and continued staring at Bruce, who resolutely kept looking at his plate.

"Well, if he's friends with you, he must be a fucking stupid kid." Brian said harshly. Bruce looked up at that, brows drawing together.

"Don't say that, Dad!" he said, voice as assertive as he could make it, even as his hands shook so much they kept clinking his fork against his plate. "Thor's the best!"

Brian glowered. "Don't talk back to me, boy. You're already more trouble than you're worth."

Bruce swallowed, desperate to keep defending his friend. But his father was scary, and the fear outweighed the desire. He looked back at his plate. "Sorry, Dad."

\---

Bruce sat on the stairs that night, shivering as he listened to his parents yell about whether or not he could go. He should have just kept quiet. He could hear his mother saying how he needed friends, needed stability, and his father screaming, countering that he was a freak, he didn't need anyone, much less deserve them.

There was a mighty _thwack_ and Bruce knew what had happened.

He crept back upstairs and wished he could disappear.

\---

The sight of his mother dabbing makeup onto her face to mask a purpling bruise shouldn't have been as familiar to Bruce as it was when he tiptoed into his parents' room the morning after, only walking normally when he realised his father had already left for work.

"Mom," he said, and Rebecca jumped, only then spotting Bruce in her mirror and twisting around with a weak smile. Bruce padded forward, face scrunched with concern, and traced the outline of the deepening purple around her eye. "Was that my fault?"

Rebecca caught her son's fingers, pressed a gentle kiss to the tips. "No. No, sweetie. It's not your fault, and I don't want you to ever think it is. Its never your fault."

Bruce nodded, but it didn't quite chase away the lingering tendrils of guilt. "Can I... can I still go to Thor's? Today?"

Pulling Bruce to sit on her knee, Rebecca smiled and continued to apply concealer around her eye. "Yeah, you can. Just don't let Dad know, yeah? Our little secret, you and me."

Bruce nodded, reaching out to poke the concealer on his mom's hand that she was using on her eye. "Can I try?"

"Putting makeup on me? Sure."

Fascinated, Bruce patted the blender she passed him in the concealer, before thrusting it rather too enthusiastically at her eye. She winced and pulled back a little, and Bruce immediately faltered, before she laughed and gestured for him to continue, and he grinned. Granted, his method was unorthodox, but he was quite proud regardless as he jabbed at his mother's face, leaving concealer all over her eye.

Eventually, he made a few final pats, and placed the blender down triumphantly. Rebecca glanced in the mirror and almost burst out laughing at the unblended mess surrounding her eye. "Looks great, sweetheart!" Bruce glowed with pride. "Now shoo, before I put mascara on you."

Gasping, laughing, and wriggling from her lap, Bruce absconded quickly. Rebecca shook her head, swallowed, and turned to fix the mess of concealer he'd created.

\---

The summer vacation slid by, and Thor and Bruce spent most of it glued to each other's side (with the addition of Loki, who joined in most, if not all, of their games).

After a while, the inevitable could no longer be delayed, and Brian Banner made himself known to Thor and his family. 

"So, Odin," Brian said. They were sat around Odin's dinner table, having been invited over for dinner, given that the children had become such good friends. "What do you do?"

"I'm a businessman," Odin replied crisply. At the end of the table, Bruce, Thor and Loki whispered to each other and giggled. "A rather successful one, at that."

Frigga and Rebecca glanced at each other, both (correctly) predicting that Brian and Odin would continue to butt heads all night. The kids continued to mumble and laugh, and Brian shot a glare at Bruce.

"Bruce," he barked, and Bruce's head shot up, body language instantly shifting into on guard. "Be quiet. The adults are talking."

"Yes, Dad," Bruce said, and for a moment he sat quietly and poked at his food. Odin and Brian returned to passive-aggressively making jabs at one another, their wives smiled apologetically and made comfortable conversation, and it didn't take long for Thor to tug on Bruce's sleeve and pull him back into the conversation.

As distracted as Brian seemed to be, it didn't go unnoticed.

\---

Bruce was sat on the porch again the next day, hunched in on himself and scanning a book so thick Thor wondered how it could possibly be interesting. But that didn't matter as he bounced across the street, excited to see his friend again.

"Bruce!" he cheered as he reached the porch. "What are you doing all lonesome? Come play!"

Bruce didn't look up from his book. "I can't."

"Nonsense! That book cannot possibly be interesting." Thor peered at the pages Bruce was reading. "There aren't even any pictures!"

Exhaling tiredly, Bruce looked up from his book, and Thor recoiled. His lip was swollen massively and split, not quite bleeding but close to it. "I can't, Thor. Dad said I'm not allowed to play with you anymore. He says you're a... a bad influence."

At a loss for words, Thor let his sword clatter to the ground and sat down on the step next to Bruce, who shuffled away. "Okay. Well, we don't have to play. What are you reading?"

Bruce glanced with wild eyes to the front door behind them. "Thor, I'll get in trouble. My dad will be mad."

"But we are not playing! I simply wish to know what you're reading."

Eyes dropping to his book again, Bruce brought a hand to his lip and closed his eyes. "Go away."

"Bruce-"

"Go away!"

Shocked, Thor stood up. He knew that somehow, he'd gone too far, but he'd only wanted to talk to his friend. 

"Sorry," he mumbled, picking up his sword. "Enjoy your book."

He began walking back across the road. When he glanced back, Bruce had already disappeared inside.

\---

School began again before long, and while Thor was ecstatic that, not only was Bruce in the same school and class as him, they were _sat together_ , Bruce was terrified that his father would find out and demand that he be moved. He didn't want to ignore Thor, he was desperate to talk to him and play as Hulk again and be _friends_ again, but he couldn't. Brian was scrutinizing him closely, muttering about how he was already enough of a freak, he didn't need some weird kid influencing him and making him even freakier.

So he did the bare minimum, interacted with Thor in class only when he had to, always grabbed someone else for paired projects or allowed himself to be dragged into other groups for group projects, did all the work while they laughed and joked. He doubted Brian would ever find out if he talked to Thor, but the thought scared him bad enough to do as much as he could to distance himself from Thor.

Sometimes, he would come into school with finger-shaped bruises on his arms or neck, covered up with long sleeves or turtlenecks, and Thor pretended not to notice. Everyone seemed to pretend not to notice. 

Sometimes, he wouldn't come into school at all, and Thor would have to firmly tell himself not to cross the road and demand to know what was wrong. Bruce clearly wanted nothing to do with him, so he wouldn't force himself onto him. Instead, he threw himself into making new friends, and merely hoped Bruce was alright.

Then Bruce turned eleven, and Thor couldn't stop himself from drawing an admittedly poor quality card and presenting it to him with an excited grin. Bruce accepted it with shaky hands, flashed Thor a smile that the latter hadn't seen in months. It sent a burst of warmth through Thor's chest.

Later, still on Bruce's birthday, he heard a group of boys discussing crushes on girls in their class, and he frowned. 

After school, when Frigga arrived with Loki in tow to pick him up, he jumped along by her side and hopped over the cracks in the pavement and looked up at her.

"Mother, is it okay for me to have a crush on a boy?"

Frigga merely looked down at him, typical soft smile in place. "You can have a crush on whomever you'd like, Thor."

Loki kicked at the ground and muttered that he didn't know why Thor would want a crush on anyone. Thor grabbed his hand and leapt over a puddle on the pavement, before grinning and announcing that "I think I have a crush on Bruce."

\---

During the night of Bruce's eleventh birthday, Rebecca woke him up, eyes wild, shushing him gently as he complained.

"You have to be quiet, sweetie, real quiet," she kept saying, glancing behind her, and Bruce got the idea that something awful was happening. He had the good sense to shut up.

"You and me are going on holiday, darling," she told him, hands shaking as she folded whichever of Bruce's shirts she grabbed first into his little suitcase.

"What about school?" Bruce asked blearily.

"We might not be back for a while. Do you... do you want your books?"

Bruce nodded, and Rebecca gestured for him to grab them. He obliged quickly, pressing his favourite textbooks (science, mostly) into his suitcase, before his mother clipped it up and shushed him again, tiptoeing out of his room to where her own flowery suitcase awaited them.

Bruce tugged at her dress. "What about Thor?"

"What about him, baby?"

"Will I see him again?"

Rebecca thought about it, before kissing Bruce's forehead and taking his hand to lead him down the stairs. "I don't know, Bruce," she replied honestly. Bruce didn't know how he felt about that.

They made it downstairs, and crept their way outside as quietly as they could. But just as Bruce clipped himself into the passenger seat of their car, the door banged open and the ominous shadow of Bruce's father appeared in the frame.

Rebecca swallowed, gave Bruce a warm hug, kissed the top of his head through his curls and whispered that she loved him. Bruce never wanted to let go, wanted to stay in that moment forever, breathing in the sweet scent of her flowery perfume.

"Rebecca," Brian growled from the door, taking a threatening step forward, and Rebecca reluctantly extracted herself from Bruce's small embrace and shut the door, shooting him a brave smile.

"Brian," she replied coldly, walking around from the passenger side so she was face-to-face with her husband.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"I could say the same to you."

"Don't act cocky, bitch. Where are you taking the brat?"

"Anywhere but here."

Bruce watched the altercation in terror, the sound not travelling into the car. It was silent as Brian grabbed Rebecca, who struggled violently, and threw her down onto the ground.

He tried to jump out of the seat but the seatbelt jolted him back, and his fingers were shaking so badly it took him a second to unclip it.

When he eventually leapt out of the car and ran around, he stopped short at the sight before him. His mother lay still on the ground, head smashed and bloodied, crimson seeping onto the concrete. Brian glared at him, hands dripping red.

"You saw fucking _nothing_ ," he hissed between gritted teeth, and Bruce had never been so terrified in his life. "Get back inside. I'll deal with you later."

Bruce could barely move his legs, but somehow he found himself inside the house again, eyes wide and the image of his mother burned deep into them.

\---

Now that Thor had concluded he was crushing on Bruce, he was trying to decide how to go about bringing it up. Vacation began without any sign of Bruce. Christmas passed, and he couldn't see Bruce to give him any kind of present. He was hoping that, once the vacation drew to a close, Bruce would be in school, so that he would have a chance to tell him without getting him in trouble with his father, but Bruce didn't appear in school for a good week after it restarted.

Thor glimpsed him across the road after the week, just once, wearing a black suit that was far too big for him and staring at his hands. He'd wanted to run across the road and scoop him into a hug, but then Brian had appeared and tugged impatiently at Bruce, and he couldn't risk getting him in trouble.

Another week passed, without Bruce showing up for school, before a whole load of cars showed up outside Bruce's house, and Thor saw him getting dragged along by a woman who looked fairly irritated by the whole affair. Somehow, he knew intrinsically that he _had_ to talk to Bruce, right then.

"Bruce!" he called, sprinting across the road, and Bruce looked at him with deadened eyes that made his heart stop. "Where are you going?"

"Away," Bruce mumbled. "I... I don't know when I'll be back. I'm r-really sorry."

Thor bit his lip, before looking pleadingly at the woman holding Bruce's hand. "May I just retrieve a present for Bruce? A going-away present?"

The woman nodded, smiling, but it wasn't as soft or as loving as Bruce's mother's, more exhausted. Thor sprinted across the road as fast as his little legs could take him, rocketing up the stairs and digging in his room until he located the gift he had to admit he'd thought of only that minute.

"Thor?" Loki asked as he barreled back downstairs and outside, clutching his little wooden sword as hard as he could, and skidded to a stop by Bruce's side. When he presented him the sword, Bruce hesitated.

"I can't take your sword," he said quietly, but his fingers were itching to take it. Thor rolled his eyes and curled Bruce's fingers around the handle.

"I wish for you to have it. A reminder. Of me."

Bruce swallowed thickly, before throwing his arms around Thor in a tight hug. "I'd never forget you," he whispered into Thor's ear, before he was tugged away into one of the cars.

Thor watched and waved as hard as he could until the car was fully out of sight.

\---

Thor didn't see Bruce again for a long, long, time after that.

\---

"Bruce?"

Bruce glanced up from his work.

A lot had changed.

He'd grown up with his cousin and aunt and uncle, constantly in fear of his father pulling him out of that somewhat calm environment, bullied at his new school and missing Thor terribly. He took that wooden sword everywhere he went for years, right up until it was just ridiculous for him to be carting around a ten-year-old's toy. Even then it stayed safely tucked away in his room, given a place of honour.

It travelled with him as he moved from place to place, studied his doctorates and as the memories of Thor started to fade. At times he wondered why he kept it. It wasn't like Thor would remember him, or like they would ever meet again.

"Hey, when's your birthday?"

Bruce stiffened. He hadn't celebrated his birthday since the day his mom died on it. He hadn't even thought about it.

"Uh, why?"

He'd met Tony Stark in college, been just a little awestruck by the snarky son of a billionaire who was one of the most intelligent people he'd ever met. They'd remained good friends, due to the lack of mothers being murdered and court cases, and Tony was currently leaning against the door to Bruce's lab, interrogating him about his birthday.

"Well, I wanted to do something. Thought it'd be nice. Not that hard a concept. Also, there's this guy I want you to meet. Real sweet, and real goddamn hot."

Tony had also helped Bruce come to terms with his bisexuality. Had involved some real awkward encounters, but they were necessary. Most of them.

Anyway, now he spent a good chunk of time trying to set Bruce up with guys he thought were suitable.

"He's not going to be anything like the last one, is he?" Bruce groaned, pushing his chair back and rubbing his eyes underneath his glasses. He wasn't sure how long he'd been staring at these equations without actually seeing them, but it was long enough to make his eyes sting and water.

"No promises. I stand by my recommendations."

"I'll accept the set up, but you are not allowed to throw me any kind of party."

Tony pouted. "Aww. You didn't even tell me when it is."

Bruce glanced at the calendar, neat red crosses ticking off the days. "Uh. Two days."

"Two day- you know what? That's such a you move I'm not even shocked."

"Should I be offended?"

"I don't know. Okay, here's the deal. I won't throw you a massive fuck-off party if, and only if, you agree to go on a date with this guy. Seriously, he's perfect for you."

"Tony, I already said yes."

"Wait, really? Damn. It usually takes longer than that to convince you."

Bruce rolled his eyes. "I'm fairly open to your matchmaking, most of the time."

The conversation rolled easily off his tongue, and that was perhaps the best thing about Tony. He was easy to talk to. Bruce didn't have to overthink every word, get bogged down with anxieties or stress. 

Eventually, Tony left, after promising to sort out the date, and Bruce stared tiredly at the calendar. He'd barely realised the date, too focused on his work.

Two days until the anniversary of his mother's death.

He'd stopped thinking of it as his birthday the very same day it happened. It didn't feel like it belonged to him anymore. He certainly didn't deserve it. It should be a day to honour his mother, even if he was the only one to do so.

Maybe it would be good for him if he started treating it like a birthday again, even if it did make his stomach twist with the same familiar guilt it always had when his mother got hurt because of him.

He hoped the guy Tony picked was decent.

\---

As soon as Bruce had left, Thor regretted not promising to get in touch with him. He missed him like crazy for a long, long time, before eventually it started to ease and he began to move on.

Of course, he never forgot Bruce. But he became less "my best friend" and more the "childhood friend I had for a while". He became less "my crush" and more "my first crush". He moved on, experimented, grew out his hair, began surfing, grew up.

He didn't want to not have a reminder, though, and a little while after Bruce left he discovered a drawing they'd done together, of Thor and Hulk. It was mediocre at best, but hey, they were ten. He folded it up and kept it in his pocket, and as soon as he got one it travelled to his wallet and stayed there. Nostalgia was sweet, even as he grew older and older. _Especially_ as he grew older and older.

He abandoned his father's business before he even joined in favour of forging his own path, and ended up becoming a blacksmith-slash-surfer. He made countless new friends, everywhere he went, and stayed in close touch with his brother, who was making similar ventures. His brother had someone who was maybe a friend, maybe a foe, one Tony Stark who apparently had heard a lot about Thor.

"I'm telling you, this guy is perfect."

"I have no doubts! Loki both sings your praises and exaggerates your faults, but I believe this is deserving of the former."

As soon as Tony had talked to Thor for five minutes, he pointed at him and asked if he was straight. Thor merely blinked and said no, but he would have to respectfully decline Tony's advances. Waving it away, Tony launched into a tirade about his friend from college who was eternally single and he thought Thor was perfect.

"So, when can I meet this perfect man?" Thor joked, leaning back in his chair. Tony followed suit.

"Well it was meant to be a birthday surprise so I'll have to check when his birthday actually _is_. He's never told me, isn't that rude?"

"Verily."

"Thanks for the affirmation, Shakespeare. I don't hold it against him, anyway, I love the guy. He's just a very private person. I'm not putting you off, am I?"

"Not in the least."

"Great. Well, I'll text you once I've sorted it out, alright?"

"Wonderful."

So, Thor guessed he had a date.

\---

"Don't wear that," Natasha told Bruce, when he exited his room to showcase his outfit.

"What? Why not?"

"It does nothing for you. Why don't you wear that purple shirt you like?"

"Really?"

"Trust me, Bruce."

"The woman's right," Clint chipped in, sprawled across Bruce's sofa, crunching a family-size bag of Doritos and swatting Natasha's hand away every time she tried to take one. "Purple shirt. For sure."

Bruce shrugged. "Well, I did ask for your help."

Truth be told, he was nervous. Super nervous. He hadn't been on a date since... well, since Betty. And Betty, while she had been lovely, had left him with a bad taste in his mouth. Given the track record of "things going badly" for his life as a whole, he was just praying that good fortune turned his way for once.

Granted, Natasha and Clint maybe weren't the best people he could have enlisted to help out, but they were the only ones willing.

"So your birthdays tomorrow, huh?" Clint half-shouted as Bruce returned to his room and rummaged through his drawers for the shirt in question. "Some warning would be nice."

Bruce went cold. Everyone kept bringing up his birthday. He thought, by never mentioning it, he'd made it perfectly clear that he didn't want to celebrate, ever. But he kept his composure, buttoned up the shirt, and walked back out with a forced smile.

"I just don't really see the point of celebrating," he lied. Natasha shrugged as she managed to snag a Dorito right from Clint's hands.

"It's his decision, Clint."

" _Thank_ you, Nat."

There was a ring at the doorbell right as Bruce attempted to steal a chip, and he swallowed anxiously. "Well, wish me luck."

The two made vague noises of agreement and Bruce rolled his eyes, choosing to move past it and answer the door.

When he opened it, a great figure of a man was stood outside, wearing a tank top and shorts (despite the fact that it was December). Blonde hair waved long and brushed his shoulders, and his muscle definition was breathtaking, but Bruce was only looking at his eyes. They sparkled with something deeply familiar, that Bruce couldn't quite put his finger on. And then he glanced at the rest of him, and something clicked.

" _Thor_?"

Thor almost choked in surprise, before scooping Bruce into a tight hug and seemingly trying to squeeze the life out of him. " _Bruce_!"

Once Bruce had been released from the embrace, he stared at Thor, unable to believe what he was seeing. "I thought I'd never seen you again! It's been so long, Christ, you've changed."

"As have you! I missed you greatly, Bruce, I never forgot you. I spent an eternity wondering why you must leave."

Bruce chuckled. "You still talk funny. Do you want to, uh, grab a drink or something?"

"Has Stark not made us reservations at that restaurant?"

"Oh. Right. You wanna go there?"

Thor grinned, and it set off butterflies in not just his stomach but every one of Bruce's organs. "More than anything."

\---

"I can't believe we were brought back together by Tony, of all people. How's Loki, by the way?"

"Loki is grand! He is actually the one who befriended Tony, so we have him to thank as well."

They were sat in an upscale restaurant only Tony would pick, falling right back into the easy camaraderie they had when they were kids, only now there was a little hint of something else, something more romantic. It was hard for there not to be, in a setting as romantic as the one they were in. 

"Bruce, I hope you don't mind my asking."

"Hm?"

"Why is it that you had to leave so suddenly?"

Bruce swallowed, set down his fork slowly. "Well, normally this stuff would be way too heavy to say on a first date, but my mom died."

Thor inhaled sharply. "What happened?"

"My dad killed her. Smashed her head open on our driveway."

"So that's what that red mark was... God, Bruce. I'm so sorry."

"Not your fault."

"Do you know where your father is? I want to teach that no-good, murderous-"

"He's dead too, Thor."

Gently, Thor reached across the table and took Bruce's hand in his. "Then I'll just have to teach his son how much I missed him."

Bruce tried to refrain from smiling. "I hope you mean me, and not my dad."

At the very insinuation, Thor made a gagging sound, and they both laughed, returning to eating their meals with an invisible weight removed from Bruce's chest.

\---

"I kept the sword you gave me, you know."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Still have it, now."

Thor squeezed Bruce's hand. They were wandering through a park, the air crisp and clean, and somehow their hands had found their way to one another. "We weren't friends for a terribly long time."

"And yet you were still one of, if not the, best friend I ever had. It broke my heart when my dad said I couldn't hang out with you anymore."

"It broke mine, too. Particularly as we were sat together in class."

Bruce laughed. "God, that was awkward! I wanted to talk to you so bad!"

"I considered requesting a change many times, but I have to admit I enjoyed your company, however silent, too much to give it up."

"That's sweet."

"Besides, I had a crush on you. I didn't want you to not sit next to me anymore."

"Wait, you what?"

Thor paused, grimaced. "Should I have not said that?"

"You had a crush on me?"

"Perhaps a... small one."

Without hesitation, Bruce grabbed Thor's face and pulled him down into a deep kiss, expressing all the years between them that they'd missed. As they kissed, a far away clock tower chimed midnight, and they pulled apart, both gazing at each other.

"Isn't it your birthday?" Thor asked, suddenly remembering the date, and Bruce burst out laughing, pressing their foreheads together. He could imagine his mother, looking down at them lovingly, and whispering to him that it was okay. Somehow, he missed her less now Thor was here.

"Yeah. Its my birthday."

**Author's Note:**

> comment and validate me or ill feed ur hands to the rats


End file.
